Energy Efficiency

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 18, 2015

Urban Green Council, New York chapter of United States Green Building Council, reports excessive heat is lost in winter from leaks in New York City buildings, particularly from elevator shafts; recommends inexpensive retrofitting of large multifamily buildings, which could save city at least $11 million per year and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 metric tons. MORE

Jan. 24, 2015

Op-Ed article by author Ken Ilgunas describes experience of living with thermostat set at 45 degree temperatures in his rural house; says that lowering household temperatures helps people save on heating costs and also helps the environment, given that heating and cooling accounts for 9 percent of country's energy consumption. MORE

Jan. 21, 2015

Senate lawmakers display rare bipartisan agreement, approving amendment to Keystone XL pipeline bill intended to improve energy efficiency in buildings; measure will probably sit in limbo in Congress before it becomes law as part of Keystone bill or stand alone legislation; Congress has not passed a significant energy bill into law since 2007. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

California Gov Jerry Brown starts his fourth and last term, calling for wide reduction in state's energy usage over next 15 years, including plan to cut gas consumption by cars and trucks by up to 50 percent; says state will increase its role in battle against global warming. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Copenhagen is installing wireless network of sensors, controlling streetlamps and traffic signals, meant to lighten traffic congestion and cut carbon emissions; urban areas around world are expected to replace 50 million aging outdoor lighting fixtures with LEDs over next three years, half of them in Europe. MORE

Dec. 6, 2014

Smart meters that talk directly to electricity providers have potential to usher in so-called dynamic pricing, which is intended to benefit electrical systems by reducing demands during peak hours; dynamic pricing is still many years away despite federal subsidies that have helped finance switch to so-called smart grid because most customers and public service commissions are simply not ready for the change. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Op-Ed article by policy expert Ralph Cavanagh examines positive trends in energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and renewable energy, in light of new greenhouse gas agreement between the United States and China; notes despite grumbling, US has steadily reduced its total energy use since 2007, and that economic growth has strongly outpaced increases in consumption. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Several of Manhattan’s Class B office buildings, typically known for being old and out of the way, in last few years have acted to shrink their carbon footprints; analysts say while landlords find it difficult to recoup what they spend on green features from their tenants, energy savings can be significant. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

Development in Wilmington, Del, called The Flats, which was built in early 20th century to provide affordable housing for working-class families, is being reconstructed to be larger and more energy-efficient. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

Op-Ed article by Breakthrough Institute co-founders Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus holds light-emitting diodes, while producing light with less energy, are unlikely to significantly reduce worldwide energy consumption; contends past developments in illumination have led to increased use of lighting and more overall energy consumption; holds, in order to reduce carbon emissions, shift to cleaner sources of energy is necessary. MORE

Sep. 21, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is planning to overhaul energy-efficiency standards of all city's public buildings and to pressure private landlords to make similar improvements; initiative is part of pledge, which will be announced at start of United Nations Climate Summit, to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels. MORE

Jul. 21, 2014

Rep Robert Latta, Republican whose Ohio district is home to several Whirlpool factories, introduces bill that would ban class-action lawsuits against companies that claim Energy Star label results, but do not deliver on such claims; suggests that if Environmental Protection Agency could determine a resolution like reimbursing consumers for money lost because of misleading claims, lawsuits should be disallowed; critics hold ban would leave consumers unprotected. MORE

Jul. 5, 2014

Op-Ed article by research scientists Erez Yoeli and Moshe Hoffman and Prof David Rand observes that risk of citywide blackouts is increasing as summer temperatures and energy demand rises; notes that device that adjusts energy consumption when there is blackout risk already exists; says individual reluctance to install device is preventing technology from being adopted more widely, and offers suggestions for increasing participation. MORE

May. 13, 2014

Bipartisan bill to encourage energy efficiency in buildings dies in the Senate, derailed by contentious debate over Keystone XL pipeline and Pres Obama's plans to issue new climate change regulations. MORE

May. 9, 2014

Pres Obama will announce handful of executive actions and private and nonprofit groups' investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy; initiatives will not amount to much in terms of energy policy or their impact on global warming, but are part of broader campaign to build public support for Environmental Protection Agency rule limiting carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants; rule is expected to create new market for zero-carbon energy from sources like wind and solar. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Experts say energy storage is crucial to transforming the electrical grid into clean, sustainable low-emissions system, but they note that storage in the form of batteries is years from being feasible; one of the ways to store bulk amounts of energy available at the moment is with cold or heat, using ice or molten salt. MORE

Apr. 22, 2014

Barcelona is among a number of European cities adopting new forms of technology aimed at improving public services in ways that cut energy use and generate income; analysts say European cities remain a step ahead of the United States in creating efficient, so-called smart cities; push mirrors efforts in some American cities that have spent millions of dollars to upgrade infrastructure. MORE

Feb. 13, 2014

Some operators of supercomputers are immersing them in cooling liquids, without causing any apparent damage, to keep them from overheating; advocates say so-called immersion or submersion cooling could reduce air-conditioning bills and environmental strains. MORE

Jan. 9, 2014

Tina Beebe, architectural colorist, painter and landscape designer, and Buzz Yudell, award-winning architect, have built airy modern home designed to maximize sunlight and space on small lot in Santa Monica, Calif; building uses solar panels and passive house construction to generate all the energy it needs. MORE

Jan. 8, 2014

Multinationals and local suppliers in Asia are increasingly going beyond local regulations in designing factories that cut energy costs and pollute less; they are finding financial and public-relations benefits in increased efficiency. MORE

Dec. 24, 2013

Energy Department, environmental groups and cable television industry agree to reduce the electricity needed by set-top boxes and other devices even when they are turned off; agreement will save consumers more than $1 billion annually. MORE

Nov. 2, 2013

Many energy-conscious consumers are switching from compact fluorescent bulbs to light-emitting diode, or LED, bulbs as price of these bulbs drops; prefer warm glow cast by LED lights over harsh light emitted by compact fluorescents. MORE

Oct. 25, 2013

New York City plans to replace all of its 250,000 streetlights with energy-saving, light-emitting diode fixtures in one of the nation’s largest retrofitting projects; phasing out is part of the Bloomberg administration’s long-term plan to reduce city's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2017. MORE

Oct. 9, 2013

Some sporting venues have replaced older lights with light-emitting diode fixtures, or LEDs, which produce three times as much energy per watt and last far longer than traditional lights; trend has been slow to catch on due to fact that LEDs typically cost four times as much as incandescent lamps, and it can take several years to recoup costs through energy savings. MORE

Oct. 9, 2013

Form of construction known as natural building, in which homes are built with natural materials like straw, sand, earth and rock, has attracted followers because of associated savings in building materials and energy. MORE

Sep. 28, 2013

Bloomberg administration issues report card showing energy consumption in city’s largest residential buildings, first time any American city has publicized such data; disclosure will be one of most prominent legacies of Mayor Michael R Bloomberg's environmental agenda. MORE

Sep. 13, 2013

Op-Ed article by industry expert Ralph Cavanagh notes America's energy productivity and security are better than they have been in decades, largely because of gains made in energy efficiency; praises Pres Obama for giving top priority to energy efficiency resources. MORE

Aug. 15, 2013

Passive houses, super-insulated, low-energy homes already popular in Europe, are tentatively taking root in United States; still, comparatively low cost of fuel in United States and expense of building such houses may prevent them from becoming widespread. MORE

Aug. 15, 2013

Architect Dennis Wedlick, known for green houses, designed his own with his life partner Curt DeVito more than 25 years ago in Kinderhook, NY; says passive solar houses, which collect and store sun's energy, have become more advanced and less sun-dependent. MORE

Jul. 28, 2013

Editorial criticizes Republicans for adopting energy appropriations bill that, among other things, forbids the government from enforcing energy efficiency standards for light bulbs and electrical appliances; contends bill is just an opportunity for House Republicans to attack Pres Obama. MORE

Jul. 21, 2013

Ginia Bellafante Big City column laments misuse of air conditioning throughout New York City during hot summer months; says that while experts have set guidelines for optimal air conditioner use, they are rarely followed, as businesses are cooled to excessively low temperatures and home units are poorly insulated, resulting in significant energy losses. MORE

Jun. 30, 2013

Lisa Prevost Mortgages column notes Senate bill known as SAVE Act could make energy-efficient features more affordable to home buyers by allowing them to qualify for a larger loan amount. MORE

Jun. 19, 2013

Energy program under way at Seattle's Bullitt Center is attracting notice of commercial building owners around country who may be reluctant to make heavy investments in energy efficient technologies; plan uses investors to put in capital for major retrofits, producing new revenue based on energy savings that will pay off all involved for decades. MORE

Jun. 7, 2013

Bill reintroduced by Senate would allow home buyers purchasing energy-efficient properties to qualify for larger mortgages than their incomes would normally merit; measure enjoys broad support from real estate industry. MORE

Mar. 21, 2013

David Pogue State of the Art column says LED bulbs last longer and use less power than older ones, and are becoming more accepted as prices fall; reviews variety of current models on market. MORE

Feb. 17, 2013

Many strategies for reducing home energy consumption are free or inexpensive, and technology makes it easier to implement them; New York State residents may also qualify for free home energy audits. MORE

Jan. 22, 2013

LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are projected to outsell incandescent light bulbs in North America by 2014; prices for energy efficient LEDs are higher than incandescent bulbs but are falling steadily; long-lasting bulbs will result in fewer sales over time, making race for market share urgent. MORE

Dec. 25, 2012

Data released under New York City law that tracks energy use in commercial buildings finds that the city's largest non-residential structures, just 2 percent of its roughly one million buildings, account for 45 percent of its energy use. MORE

Oct. 24, 2012

Many cities and towns across America, seeking to reduce their carbon emissions, have adopted performance contracts with energy service companies that have no upfront costs, allowing them to pay for projects over time using savings on utility bills; deals have freed municipalities to pursue a variety of green energy goals. MORE

Aug. 3, 2012

Comprehensive study of energy use by New York City's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability shows some of the city's largest buildings use up to five times as much power as others of comparable size or purpose; report is a preamble to assigning scores to individual buildings on their energy use and publicizing them to encourage property owners to make necessary improvements to increase energy efficiency. MORE

Jul. 24, 2012

Utility companies are using a number of tactics, including social media, games and data analysis of energy use, to persuade customers to use less electricity; utilities face government mandates to encourage conservation and to deal with the rising cost and difficulties involved in building power plants and distribution systems. MORE

May. 27, 2012

Brooklyn developer Voltaic Solaire is renovating a Park Slope brownstone so that it generates as much energy as it uses; $1 million rehabilitation will cover the building with a solar skin, generating 18,000 watts of energy a year, enough to power all six units in the 27,000-square-foot-property. MORE

Apr. 27, 2012

New York City Council is expected to vote to update zoning regulations to catch up with the Bloomberg administration's environmental image and make it easier for builders to increase structures' energy efficiency and put gardens on rooftops; zoning changes would affect building types as varied as office towers, warehouses and apartment buildings. MORE

Apr. 11, 2012

Large retailers are increasingly investing in technology to conserve energy, in part to compensate for reduced sales during the economic recession; alternative energy producers see the retail industry, which uses 20 percent of the energy consumed by all commercial business, as a crucial testing ground for their products. MORE

Apr. 11, 2012

Energy-efficient flat screen televisions, along with other appliances, are being marketed for their cutting-edge technology rather than their merit as green products; advertisers shifted their focus after appeals to environmentalism failed to take hold among consumers. MORE

Mar. 23, 2012

American oil and gas industry is vastly increasing production, reversing two decades of decline; using new technology and spurred by rising oil prices since the mid-2000s, industry is extracting millions of barrels more a week; at same time, Americans are pumping significantly less gasoline; taken together, the increasing production and declining consumption have unexpectedly brought the United States markedly closer to independence from foreign energy sources. MORE

Mar. 4, 2012

Thomas L Friedman Op-Ed column urges America to create an energy policy that has efficiency as its goal, despite the intense disagreement over climate change. MORE

Feb. 21, 2012

Researchers are hard at work trying to develop a new generation of LED lights that will be capable of lighting entire rooms while retaining their trademark energy efficiency. MORE

Feb. 2, 2012

Solutions Oriented Living (SOL) Austin is a five-and-a-half acre housing development in Austin, Texas, which features super-efficient homes outfitted with solar panels and geothermal wells that produce all the energy the buildings consume. MORE

Outlook

Energy experts anticipate that 2004, like every year before it, will be remarkable for how much energy Americans waste. But if energy prices climb as high as predicted, consumers are likely to pay more attention than usual to the opportunities to be more efficient, and retailers expect the results to show up at cash registers.

Elevator shafts accounted for much of the heat loss in New York City buildings, leaks that cost owners money and have detrimental environmental effects, according to a study by the Urban Green Council.

The nation’s reliance on foreign oil has fallen sharply since 2005, when imports made up 60 percent of the liquid fuel used. A surge of new domestic production and a decline in consumption has transformed the United States’ energy outlook.